Classical Greek Sculpture
Head of Hypnos
Classical Greek
replica: from the British Museum, London
date of the original: c. 350 BC
provenance of the original: near Perugia, Italy; now in the British Museum, London
description: Head with one wing protuding from right side; left wing missing. The original is a Roman copy of a Greek original by Scopas. At one time it was part of a full figure. (An almost complete marble statue of Hypnos is in the Prado museum of Madrid, Spain.) Resin replica with oxidized bronze finish; bronze original. Height 21 cm, width 41 cm, depth 22 cm.
Hypnos, the god of sleep, thought of as a winged youth “who comes softly and is sweet for men.”
There is only one wing left on this bronze Scopaic head. The face retains an air of melancholy despite the absence of its once coloured eyes, which all bronze statues had. It is also rather square, one of Scopas’ trademarks (see also: Head of Hygieia; Psyche of Capua).